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Three Stanford Men's Swimmers Named To World University Games Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Three current Stanford swimmers; Chad La Tourette, Bobby Bollier and John Criste were named to the 2009 World University Games on Wednesday. In all, twenty-six of the country's top swimmers will head to Belgrade, Serbia next summer to compete in the Games. The swimming competition will take place July 5-11, while the entire competition of the Games will run from July 1-12, 2009.

LaTourette was 2007 World University Games gold medalist as a high schooler. Criste competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials where he was a finalist in the 100 and 200 breast. Bollier was also an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 and 200 fly and the 400 free.

In past years, The World University Games has been a breeding ground for some of the best swimming talent in the nation. Many Olympic swimmers have at one time been a member of a World University Games team and most recently, the 2007 U.S. World University Games Team saw three members all go on to compete in the 2008 Olympics. These three swimmers - Matt Grevers, Emily Silver and Elaine Breeden - all took home Olympic hardware in Beijing.

Swimmers on the 2009 World University Games Team roster were selected based upon their performance at the 2008 USA Swimming U.S. Open Championships that took place July 29-August 2 in Minneapolis, Minn. All athletes selected for the team must be at least 17 years old and less than 28 years old on January 1, 2009. In addition, athletes selected must be a student competitor who will be officially enrolled in a full-time course of study at an approved institute of higher education prior to the entry deadline, or enrolled as a full-time university student through January 1, 2009. All members of the World University Games team roster are pending final approval by the USOC.